Dear Annie,
Long time reader, first time writer, big big fan. We’re in a condo on a hill in San Francisco with bay windows facing east from our living room. We’ve lived with bare windows for three and a half years, too afraid of doing anything to obscure the light and the wonderful views. It’s finally time to tackle window treatments.
I know you’re probably thinking, “long time reader, you know you’re supposed to start with a rug” but we’ll tackle that in the next budget cycle if a little extra coin becomes available…
So… Curtains? Full length floor-to-ceiling or just the height of the windows? Four separate hangings or a single curtain rod all the way across (with weird bay window “elbows”? curved?)? Blinds? Shades? Roman shades? Please help! Thank you!
— Ian
p.s. [We want window treatments] Mostly for light control. It’s just too darn bright for comfortable TV- and movie-watching during daylight hours. Also, it would help the room feel less bare, more “finished” (although I think it’ll actually take a rug to do that).
Dearest Ian,
That view is to die for. Or to kill for. I forget which death-related expression is more appropriate, but holy cow, it is AWESOME.
I kind of love the fact that you’ve lived without window treatments for so long. You are not alone. Most window-lovin’ fools need to go through a few winters of long, dark nights and catch a glimpse of the friendly neighborhood peeping Tom before they’re ready to commit.
I suggest one of two routes for you: floor-length drapes, or woven wood Roman shades.
DRAPES
Drapes win for ease of use, and they’ll add visual warmth to the room. I recommend:
- Neutral-colored linen: taupe, camel, etc. Close to the wall color or slightly darker.
- Floor-length – can even bunch up on the floor a little bit
- Ring-top, so you can actually close them; tab-top or rod-pocket are impossible to move
- No pleats
- Custom hardware (don’t worry; those elbows won’t look weird), with the rods mounted on the wall halfway between the windows and the crown moulding. If the walls can’t handle it – old plaster, etc. – mount the rods on the wooden window frames, as close to the top as possible.
I do think custom hardware will be necessary with your beautiful bay windows. (“Hardware” includes” the rings, which someone can sew onto your drapes – more on that below.) Remember that you don’t need to get fancy finials for your drapery rods. You can use endcaps instead. They’re cleaner looking, and much less expensive.
I like Robert Allen’s Ferraforte line; it’s great quality, and well priced for custom. We used it – with elbows; see how subtle it looks? – in this bedroom:
Now, you could do pleats, which will keep the panels neater looking between windows…
…but I think unpleated looks a little more hip and contemporary.
Because you have so little space between windows, and because unpleated drapes stretch out farther than pleated, you may be able to get away with one panel per window, cut in half. You don’t want too much fabric hanging between those windows when the drapes are open.
You will need a seamstress / window treatment fabricator to help you with all of this, but I still think you’d be able to buy panels from Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn, cut them down, hem if necessary, and attach the rings. Just make sure the panels are lined, or the room won’t be dark enough to watch TV.
WOVEN WOOD ROMAN SHADES
(Also called “natural woven shades.”) This is another great option for you. They’re more of a pain to operate, since you’re talking about 4 separate windows with 4 separate cord pulls, but you’re a grown-up. You can handle it.
For woven wood Roman shades, I recommend:
- Medium tone in color
- Not too patterned (i.e., not too tortoiseshell looking)
- Inside mount, as in the picture, if your windows can accommodate it
Woven wood shades will give you a more tailored look than drapes, but they’ll obscure more of the window, even when they’re pulled up. You can pull them almost all the way up into the valence, but about 8″ of your window will always be hidden. Not a huge deal, but you should be aware.
You WILL have to get a “privacy lining” – a thin cotton backing; you shouldn’t need blackout. Without this, if the shade has a loose weave, you may as well have nothing on the windows from a privacy OR light control standpoint. Exhibit A:
Hunter-Douglas would be delighted to send a representative to your house to show you samples; they have about a billion. Or you can order them online through The Shade Store or Smith & Noble.
I wouldn’t put anything on that small window to the right of the bay windows, if you can get away with that light-wise.
I hope this is helpful, Ian! Good luck! Let us know what you decide.
The pictures are from Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, The Shade Store, Smith + Noble, and xJavierx’s Flickr photostream.
